A soundboard tape from Bologna concert on May 1968 surfaced this summer.

At this moment we heard only the first part of the recordings and listening to it, it's another thing, than the audience tape. More profound sound, clearer, more complete, in short much better.
Roberto Bonanzi, who discovered the tape, made also an interview with the guy who made the recordings. Interview I published in this Blog:

http://jimihendrixitalia.blogspot.com/

hawkfan369

09-25-08, 01:07 PM

very exiting indeed...what does he plan to do with it?

voodoo_child58

09-25-08, 04:38 PM

I presume he wants to trade copies of it with another rare Hendrix material.

The audio man said he installed 3 mics, but Jimi asked him to take out two of them , cause he was the only one to sing..
That was not good for the registration, he regrets, only one source of sound was available for the recorder, not three..
The recorder was there because the tech. was maniac to record every concert he was involved..
Jimi asked him what was the recorder machine, and he answered it was for eco effects, (!!!) Jimi said he didn't use eco for singing, so audio man said he was going to switch off during the concert (he lied of course..)

As we can hear it with the merge (good quality by the way), Jimi had some problems with his sound there (that's why he didn't play "Foxy Lady").
If the audio man recorded the concert with 2 mics on stage, that's not a soundboard tape, even if the result could be better than some soundboard recordings!

voodoo_child58

09-26-08, 04:53 AM

As we can hear it with the merge (good quality by the way), Jimi had some problems with his sound there (that's why he didn't play "Foxy Lady").

:confused: Jimi played Foxy Lady, it was the last song the Experience played in Italy

Ayler

09-26-08, 05:11 AM

Sure! I wanted to say that's why he didn't play FL sooner.

Before playing "Tax Free", Jimi explains that he can't play "Foxy Lady" : "we're trying to play electric music and we don't have enough electricity for our own music, so we'll do a jam...".

voodoo_child58

09-26-08, 05:38 AM

Sure! I wanted to say that's why he didn't play FL sooner.

Before playing "Tax Free", Jimi explains that he can't play "Foxy Lady" : "we're trying to play electric music and we don't have enough electricity for our own music, so we'll do a jam...".

Yes, you're right Jimi told this before "Tax Free". As a matter of fact there were problems with the electricity. Electric power was floating but the sound-engineer had a stabilizer with a range of 30w so if the power were low he raised it. If there's no electricity Jimi couldn't play, that's all.
In this concert Jimi never used distortion, as devices he used only the wha-wha.
Why this, I don't know.

voodoo_child58

10-04-08, 08:39 PM

Thank you to Pancho who made the main job in translating this interview.
Here it goes:

The tape Soundboard

There are some moments which are important in the life of a fan. Moments that pay for years of labour, research and sometimes disappointments. Roberto Bonanzi has made a hit: he found the stage recording of the Bologna concert.
Here below is the interview with the author of the concert soundboard recording of The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Palasport in Bologna on May 26 1968.

The interview was made on May 20 2008 by Roberto Bonanzi.

Q. Can you tell us about what happened exactly 40 years ago?

A. What I can remember, is that my partner and I were Semprini´s dealers.

Semprini was an amplification systems company, which certainly was the most well known, because along with it, there were the old Geloso and Beanson (?), but those were small systems companies and, were not up to amplify a Stadium.
I remember that Semprini from Milan called us, as we were their dealers in the area, to tell us that there was this amplification to be done into the Palasport in Bologna for some Jimi Hendrix .. that we ...., I must confess I absolutely didn't know who he was, for me, it was a normal job that sometimes we did there because being as we were their contacts in the area we had to do it.
Moreover, I remember that I left from here with half of the equipment because my partner was at the "Bussola” (Club) of Viareggio, who on the evening before was with Mina to do the amplification, because he was always accompanying her.
Even so, with her, two boxes and a 80W amplifier were more that sufficient, in any kind of place, she would go to sing.
I remember that, because I waited for him the night before, for the show in Viareggio to be finished, he then departed on the night and arrived in the late morning in Bologna with the other half of the equipment.
We put together the two sets and mounted it, and I remember that we were told that there were three people (on stage).
I put three microphones on stage ... .. the D12, do you remember those squares of KG ?..
I installed three microphone stands with three microphones positioned, another one in the centre, …that’s because there were four Marshall. .. like two Marshall double case for the guitar, and two Marshall double case for the bass.
I put one microphone in the front, another one near the drummer, thinking that could be useful .. all three guys singing the songs and doing the choruses, I didn’t know that so in case.., I repeat; I knew nothing about the group....

Q. So they didn’t give you any technical information about how to manage the situation ?

A. No, no, .. I had placed three microphones knowing that there were three people,that’s all.

Then when they arrived (JHE) ... we tried the installation, everything worked fine, then my partner who was very tired and, fell asleep on a bench (laughs) …Some time later I listened on the recording, and I heard that he was snoring …and after when he was awake .., we left for a minute to go to eat something having nothing else to do because we had finished installing the system: outside there was a small bar, we ate a couple of sandwiches, and then we waited.

Afterwards, those guys arrived who had played before (backing bands).

No, they (JHE)first arrived, they tried the sound system, and said that everything went well, Hendrix made me remove two microphones because he said they weren’t of any use, cause, he was the only one going to sing.

He told me to disassemble them , I had them removed, and then came to the side of the stage where I had put the central unit and installed the Revox.

He asked me what it was.

I told him that it was the echo (laughs) because I didn’t want him to tell me not to record…he told me: No, nothing echoed, I sing without echo.

Okay I said I would switch it off, and I did so...(faking to press the stop button). Then when they started, I started the recorder, because it was my mania to record ... I repeat not because I knew that he was Jimi Hendrix ...but because I recorded everything everywhere I went.

Q. So for you Hendrix was a totally unknown person.

A. No, I never heard of, ..like.. I did not know nothing about him, then afterwards I was excited when I saw him playing... I knew Foxy Lady and Hey Joe, knew them, but didn’t know the artist, I knew only all these small groups here playing those songs,... and then after I was impressed ... when…. From what I remember he had only the wah-wah because to distort the guitar, rubbed the head stock of the Stratocaster against the Marshall´s, he aimed over the speaker case to go in distortion, Whuuu ... Whuuu

Q. As confirmed by other records, Jimi turned to the audience saying that some songs cannot be played because of voltage problems (electric power) ?.

A. Yes, there were voltage surges, changes in electricity, but the Semprini system had a stabilizer with a range of 30V, and we had to keep an eye on the needle because with the needle when we saw the current was low, we raised it.

Q. As we can hear from the recording, Jimi was using only the wah wah for effects?

A. I remember that with the head stock aimed towards the speaker case, making .Whuuu.hu .. then I was excited when he played with his teeth, I never expected to see this ... it looked as if ate it, he bit it... . I was there, below him.

Q. Did you have the possibility to talk to them before or after the show ?.

A. Yes, when he first tried the system, which is now called sound check, he checked that the sound was good, he saw that we were ready, and he went into the dressing rooms.

Q. he asked you for any particular requests ?.

A. No took away two microphones,,Jimi asked me to do this, and I did it.
I installed them because I thought I would have a better recording of the concert if I had three sources instead of one, because what’s there (on the tape), comes through his microphone, another thing that I remember at the end. .. Before you told me about an evening show … I swear to you, I thought about it so much, but as I remember there wasn’t an evening show..
I remember that when they finished playing, they fled into the dressing room, we dismantled the equipment and then we went to meet them and the last thing that I remember is that there was the drummer beating a rhythm with his drum sticks on a chair ( miming the action-laughs), maybe he wasn't relaxed enough after the performance yet...
Then we greeted them and we came away, but the memory can play funny tricks after forty years, I am 95% sure that we dismantled the equipment and went away.

Q. what was the audience's participation like?

A. It was not crowded, but very hot

Q. Can you tell me the media used for recording?.

A. The recorder was a Revox, the coil was Geloso, recovered “on the flight” because we were not sure of recording it but at the last moment it was the first reel that we got our hands on...
I was 14 years old when I started this job, now I´m 66,…at the beginning I did it only in the summer holidays because I went to school and then when I got older it became my full-time job till now.
The one and only time I heard the tape, was 20 years ago with some friends, .. now it’s your time to listen to it..

http://jimihendrixitalia.blogspot.com/

Emilovious

10-04-08, 08:48 PM

Thanks Roberto and Pancho.
Very interesting and informative interview.
The recording must be excellent.
The guy obviously knew what he was doing.
Too bad for the other 2 mics.
Can't wait to hear the tape....